Got a Norfolk coming tomorrow who I usually handstrip. However the dog has been very ill, and although now recovering, the owner is worried she may not be up to be stripped. I don't want to clip if possible as it'll take ages to get back to stripping, wondered about using the Coat King on her? Or perhaps one of my longer blades just to take the thickness out of the coat. Or just strip the worst out and see how she goes - it's not exactly arduous for a little dog like a Norfolk to be stripped, though admittedly she isn't very keen on the process. Any other ideas?

Depends. Is the dog a show dog or just a pet? If a show dog, do not use the coat king as it can break a terrier coat. If the dog is a pet, I would definitely go for the coat king though. I use it on my Scottish Terrier now that she is retired and it does make such a difference in the time it takes me to get her coat under control. I tend to mix it with stripping though as I have yet to get the look I really want with the coat king alone. In terms of her behaviour though, I wouldn't say she is any happier about the coat king than she is with hand stripping but it does really cut the grooming time down.

I'd use the Coat King if a pet.    I have successfully used it on a rough coated dog in combination with hand stripping too,  and it gives a really good finish without spoiling the coat.

To avoid cutting the coat,  be sure to only use it in the direction the coat lies ;-)

If the dog is still recovering and not really up to a full session,   what about splitting the grooming into 2 sessions?

Oh yes just a pet, but they do look so much nicer stripped that I didn't want to clip if I can avoid it. I'll try the Coat King and see how much I can get out with that. I don't think she'll mind if it's not perfect as long as the dog is clean and tidy. :-)

After all that most of the coat wasn't really ready for stripping, so the coat king worked very nicely, that'll keep her tidy until the next time. :-)